


Inanimate Insanity - Step Zero

by twilymeeks



Category: Inanimate Insanity (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Psychological Drama, Survival Horror, death game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilymeeks/pseuds/twilymeeks
Summary: Suitcase and the other contestants wake up in a remote location, with little to no explanation as to why. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly...that is, until a defected Mephone 4 enters the picture.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**_Error 404: Mephone 4 is unresponsive._ **

**_If problems persist, contact Meeple at xxx-xxx-xxxx._ **

_**Cause: Unknown. It is possible your Mephone 4 may have an out-of-date memory card. Overblown memory may cause irreversible error. If there is no change to your Mephone 4 after reset, scrap it immediately.** _


	2. Unfamiliar

The light always shone in Suitcase's eyes when she woke up. As much as it was blinding to see the sun first thing it the morning, it woke her up, at least. But, perhaps this morning was different.

**She woke up in pure, unfiltered darkness.**

She could've sworn her eyes were open--they definitely were, without question. She wasn't experiencing some form of sleep paralysis again, she had complete control of her body. Sitting up, she could hear her surrounding becoming full circle.

"H-Hey, what's going on? Why the hell is it so dark?"

"Can anyone find a light switch? Anyone?"

She could hear the sounds of others stirring awake, and the sounds of snores from those who somehow didn't jolt awake from all the noise.

"Wow, we're living in the dark ages now! Get it?"

Wait, Cheesy? Wasn't he eliminated? Now that her mind was alert, she could hear the voices of not just the current competitors, but past contestants too. This wasn't some sort of challenge at all. In the midst of all this chaos, her field of vision was whammed with the presence of light. Squinting her eyes, she could see what was emitting the sudden hint of light.

"Man, what's with all the ruckus over here? Are you guys sleuthing without me?" 

Lightbulb, emitting light from her bulb, lit the room with her bright exterior. As a result of that, it seemed to have woken the rest of the contestants up. But in the end, who would be able to sleep in a situation like this?

"Hey, what's with the serious expression? You guys are really--huh?" Just as Lightbulb was talking, her eyes immediately darted to someone very familiar to her. 

"OMGA! Painty!" Lightbulb hugged Paintbrush without a hint of thought, and the two rolled into the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much! Wait, what are you doing here? Didn't you get eliminated?"

"What do you think we're trying to figure out?" Knife said, leaning against the wall.

"I don't know what kind of game Mephone is playing, but there's no way this is a challenge. Why would everyone be here in the first place?"

"Maybe one of us is rejoining the game?" Balloon said.

"Yeah right, like anyone would let _you_ back in." Nickel sneered.

"Ugh, can we just like, get out of here already? This dust is already ruining my complexion." Salt complained.

"Look, all we need to do is find a way out of here. Has anyone tried to open the door?" Baseball asked.

"Won't budge. Not even an inch." Paintbrush replied, attempting to unlock the door.

"Painty! Try to burn the door down!"Lightbulb shouted.

"And risk burning the whole room to flames? Not happening." They replied.

Through all the commotion, Suitcase tried to think. The door wouldn't budge, for one, but there had to be some way to bust it open.

"Baseball. You're the largest out of all of us, right?" Suitcase asked.

"Maybe you'd be able to knock the door down!"

Suitcase's comment led all eyes to Baseball. Baseball sighed, and turned to face the door.

"Welp, here goes."

With a running start, Baseball headbutted the door, and the door was sent flying. More light entered the room, with some wincing at the sudden entrance of it.

"We're free. We're actually free!" Yin celebrated.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! THERE'S CLEARLY ANOTHER ROOM!" Yang retorted.

Everyone flooded out of the room, and just like Yang had yelled, it was sadly just another room. However, the place actually looked of decency. Large windows, sun beaming into what seemed to be a lounging area. 

**And all that could be seen from above was a single sign.**


	3. Making An Entrance

" **W-What the..** "

Suitcase couldn't help but feel puzzled at what she saw. It was a sign, a big one at that.

**_Welcome to the rest of your lives!_ **

"The rest of our lives?" OJ said.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Are you _braindead_? We wouldn't be here if it was!" Trophy sneered.

_"Man, did you guys not get the message or what?"_

A voice echoed throughout the room. Suitcase's eyes darted across each corner of the room, curious as to where the voice could be coming from. It wasn't one of those voices in her ehad, but rather a peculiar voice. One that sounded very familiar. Suitcase looked behind her, and-

" **AAAAGH!!** "

Suitcase let out a scream, scurrying behind a couch. The other looked behind, just as startled as Suitcase was. Letting her panic die down, the figure of interest appeared to be someone they knew all too well--Mephone 4.

"Wait, _Mephone_?" Paintbrush said.

"Thank goodness, we were just going to ask you why-"

As Paintbrush was about to finish their sentence, they paused as they examined Mephone's figure. Sure, it was the same old Mephone they knew, but something seemed...off. His screen looked a little glitched out, not to mention the HUGE crack on the corner of his screen. From what Paintbrush had gathered, it seemed that the crack didn't just affect the screen protector, but rather his own flesh.

"Don't tell me we have to take him to Meeple again. I can't stand seeing Cobs again!" Soap said.

"It seems like he's working just fine though." Paper said.

"Speaking of Meeple, where's Mepad?" Baseball asked.

"Mepad's on sick leave. There's no need for repairs or anything." Mephone replied, his screen flickering.

"Speaking of which, I forgot to welcome you guys here. No need to spare the details, it would take forever to tell you everything."

"Is this some sort of challenge or something?" Test Tube asked.

"Because from the look in your eyes, I deem it as a no?"

"How smart of you to figure that out. Of _course_ this is a challenge!" Mephone replied saracstically.

"The producers decided to change the season up permanently. Major changes mean new layout, new rules, and new lawsuits—I mean, **fun**!"

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? You think we're just gonna be fine with this right out of the bat?" Nickel said.

"Everything about this seems _way_ too vague."

"And that's why I'm having you all sign a contract in this very room—not really, just that room over there. Don't worry, I'm not locking you in there again." Mephone replied.

"Adam's given me most of the resources. Some are still coming so for now, you guys can sit tight and just sign it or whatever." Mephone said, his screen glitching out once again.

"The only reason you're signing it one at a time is confidentiality."

"Since when did you care about that sort of thing?" Baseball asked.

"Eh, wanted a new change of pace." Mephone replied.

**"Y͖̘͍̏͊oȗ̢̦͗'̻͎̺̓̉̽ļ͔̓̈́͘ͅḽ̻͌̄͜ ͖͐j̺̅ṳ̡̳̂̃͘st̗͛ ̧͙̱̟̿͂̑̏͟͞h͈͌a̫̘̾͌v̰̐ḙ̥͂̋ ̦̜͉͆̏͝t̪̝̞͖̻̓͐̒̿o̭̍ ̗͈͉̫̓̽͋͂w̟̩̍͠aǐ̩̞̞͌̑t̳̰̣̭̓̈́̀̐̅ͅ ̳̞̝̿̇̍͘͜ą̜̣̮̙̃̎̍͒͘n̟̚d̩̰̺̻̃͂͠ ̧̼̮̾̓̐s͍͓̯̞̗̒̓͌̊̾e̩̭̥̿̚ḙ̏̕͢.̩̩͖́̋̂̚͜"**

With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared without a trace.

The mood felt...eerie, almost. A sense of confusion circled the air, and with a. hint of hesitation, Fan decided to speak up.

"I know this is a bit obvious to say, but something fishy is going on here." He said.

"The way he was glitching clearly shows signs of malfunction, yet he's still functioning as if nothing's happened!" Test Tube replied.

"I mean, Mephone's sadistic, but he'd at least inform us of all the changes, right?"

"Hey, instead of like, being nerds in the corner, are we gonna enter the creepy room or what?" Salt asked.

Suitcase's attention darted towards the room Mephone had mentioned earlier. He'd mentioned everyone having to sign some sort of new contract, which was a bit strange to say the least. Suitcase didn't want to go in there, but someone had to. No one was sure what was in there to begin with.

"I'll go in first. We can't just stand here for god knows how long." OJ replied.

"Oh, OJ. How heroic of you!" Salt said, wooing over OJ.

OJ shooed her away, and went into the room.

"At least we'll know what's in there when he comes out." Suitcase murmured.

"You guys are acting like we're in some-- _horror movie!_ " Knife said.

"We can't just be whimpering around waiting for what happens next! We've just gotta keep going with this."

"Wow, Knife. That's like, so funny coming from you." Nickel said, snickering a little bit as Knife sent a glare in return.

"Nothing's going to happen to us. Come on, it's not like Mephone's putting us in any sort of da-"

**A slam echoed from the walls of the room.**

Suddenly, all that could be heard was a ringing noise. It pierced the eardrums of the contestants, and form the looks of it, it seemed to be coming from the room, which appeared to be-

"Wait, wasn't that door just open?!" Paintbrush asked.

"T-The door, it closed by itself!" Test Tube shouted.

However, all eyes could be focused on Paper, struggling to get the door open.

"Come on, _COME ON! **OPEN THE DAMN DOOR**_ **!** " Paper cried, his whispers turning into shouts.

The ringing continued to echo throughout the room, and it felt like Suitcase's eardrums were going to burst if this kept on going. The density of this situation was all too sudden, and the strong banging on the door didn't help either.

**And then, a scream could be heard from an all too familiar voice.**


	5. Breathless

**It was a scream that pierced the walls.**

Once it rang, the ringing noise came to a halt, and a large shatter could be heard above all else. Balloon let out a scream, and ducked his head on impulse. Suitcase could feel her anxiety rise, and just when everything seemed chaotic--everything came to an abrupt stop. Paper halted his bangng attempts, and it felt like all the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

"I-Is everyone ok?" Test Tube asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok.." Fan replied.

"What the heck was _that_ though?"

"It sounded like it came from the room." Baseball responded.

"Look, has anyone been able to get the door open?"

"I don't think anyone would be able to open it..." Paintbrush said.

"It almost feels like the door's made of entirely metal. If Baseball tried to break this door down, it wouldn't end well for him."

Paper stood still, trembling with his fists on the door. He winced a bit, his hands bruised from his attempts to free OJ. But looking down at the floor, he noticed something...moving below him. It wasn't some sort of lifeform, no, but it seemed liquid in nature. It reeked of a naturally processed scent, and it stained his feet. Confused, he let his eyes focus on it more. It looked orange in color.

**The exact color that inhabited his partner.**

Paper's eyes widened. He stepped back, almost as if he wasn't able to breathe. All he could do was stare at that liquid, that terrible liquid in fear.

"Hey, is he like, okay?" Salt murmured.

"Why does he keep looking down at the floor like that? He looks _so_ weird."

And yet, as soon as Salt laid her eyes on it, her expression turned into one of terror.

"Salty Salt? What's wrong?" Pepper asked.

Suddenly, the door opened with a swoosh. Out of the door came a shattered figure, wobbling and struggling to even stay upright. Without warning, the figure plopped to the floor, finally shattering into a hunk of what it formerly was.

**The object formerly known as OJ was shattered to a crisp.**

The entire room was silent. Eyes widened, trying to process what had just happened.

Suitcase could feel her heart pounding. Her surroundings were turning to mush, the voices in her head streaming words at her.

_And yet, she was too occupied with screaming to notice a thing._


	6. Discovery

_The atmosphere changed without a single warning afloat._

Their friend, the winner of the first season of Inanimate Insanity, was shattered to a pulp. Looking inside the room, a puddle of his liquid interior spread across the floor, sploches painting the wall of the room in return. Bouts of glass were mixed with the liquid, almost as some sort of garnish. Nonetheless, this wasn't a sight Suitcase wanted to look at, and yet she couldn't take her eyes away. As she stared, she could hear the cries of Paper just meters away from her. Hearing the raw emotion that came out of him was hard to hear within itself. In a way, she found it easier to look at that god forsaken room than watch Paper lose his mind over something like this.

" **My goodness, if only he'd just listened.** "

Suddenly, a flicker could be heard from above. All of a sudden, monitors had appeared throughout the room. The screens flickered more, and surely enough, Mephone had appeared through the screens. 

"You guys must really wanna get this show on the road, huh?" Mephone sighed.

"W-What?" Suitcase croaked.

"Show? Hasn't it already started? Either that or you've got a screw loose." Nickel said.

"Oh, you mean the million dollars, right?" Mephone replied.

" **Don't even try to think about that. You're not even competing for the million anymore.** "

"Wait, what?!" Fan said.

"T-This isn't right. Something like _this_ is out of the contrary!"

"Mephone, we need an explanation. Pronto." Test Tube said.

"W-Wait!" Paper said, his voice cracking.

Sniffling, he began to speak.

"Can you a-at least revive OJ first?"

Suddenly, Mephone snickered. Test Tube looked at him, furrowing her brows. Paper looked at him, just as puzzled as everyone else.

"Revival? You guys are really trying to pull my leg here, aren't you?" Mephone chuckled.

" **OJ isn't getting revived.** "

Mephone's screen glitched as he pushed out his sentence. Paper's eyes widened as his hands trembled. 

" **W-What did you just say?** " Paper quivered.

"How annoying. I _just_ said OJ isn't getting revived." Mephone groaned.

"You guys are really trying to push my buttons today."

The room was filled with silence. No one wanted to believe it, nor did anyone want to say anything else. Looking at Paper, she could feel his heart shatter. Salt, who loved OJ to death, was in a similar position.

"You can't, like, do that!" Salt shouted.

"We signed a contract. You said we would get revived whenever we died or something! That's like, **ILLEGAL**!"

Mephone glanced at her through the screen, unamused by her statement.

"Well, you know what Mephone? I'm leaving. I don't think anyone wants to deal with, like, this bullshit you're pulling." Salt groaned.

"Pepper, you're gonna join me, right? Let's ditch this dumpster fire."

Despite Salt's statement, Pepper stood grounded.

"Salty Salt, are you sure about this? We like, don't even know where we are." Pepper replied.

"Wow, for once you're, you know, actually standing your ground." Salt said.

"If you're like, not going to come, I might as well follow OJ to the grave or something. At least I'll be with someone who cares about our lives."

"But, that makes like, zero sense!" Pepper said.

"Pfff, whatever. I'm going to try and figure things out, unlike _you_." Salt sneered.

Strutting forward, Salt went towards the door they entered from, and yet, it wouldn't budge.

"Um, Mephone? Your stupid door won't open." Salt said, attempting to unlock the door.

"Maybe if you were paying attention, you'd know that right now, there's no way out of this." Knife said, sneering.

Salt groaned loudly, and banged on the door.

"I'M NOT PLAYING THIS GAME ANYMORE!" 

A noise could be heard from the door. It jostled slightly, and in the blink of an eye, it opened.

"You know what, Salt? Why not." Mephone glitched.

"If you can find the exit in sixty seconds, everyone can leave."

"Wait, seriously?!" Salt beamed.

"Come on, Pepper! Let's go!"

Sending a glare her way, Pepper sighed.

"You know what, fine. I'm only going because it's for everyone." Pepper replied.

Going in, the duo trudged forward with optimism. Despite their small argument, they somehow managed to stick with each other thick and thin.

And as the door closed, Suitcase's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Something in her gut told her that something was off about the situation at hand.

**But in the end, wasn't that how everyone felt?**


	7. Countdown

**0:59**

_Salt had never ran this hard in her life._

Even during her time on Inanimate Insanity, there was no point where she had to exert herself to this degree. Running? Of course she'd done that before. But the sort of desperation she held was unlike anything she'd felt before. She could feel that same energy as Pepper ran alongside her, checking every single spot that seemed open.

**0:43**

Chuckling nervously, Salt's movements became more frantic.

"We can do this." Pepper said.

"It's not impossible...right?"

**0:36**

"Y-Yeah. Like, we can do it. We can prove Mephone wrong." Salt said.

"What's his deal anyways?" Pepper said as they continued to search.

"He's so like, glitchy and all over the place. It's disgusting." Salt replied.

"God, I know. I swear to god, something was in that room."

"The room where OJ died?" Pepper asked.

"Like, duh." Salt groaned.

"Mephone said we had to sign some, like, dumb contract or whatever."

"You don't think OJ did something to cause this, right?" Pepper said.

**0:21**

"You're joking, right?" Salt laughed.

"OJ would _never_ betray me like that."

Pepper looked at Salt, puzzled.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this, but like, he's not into you Salt." Pepper said.

"You do realize he's been dating that Paper kid all this time, yeah?"

"Ugh, of course I have! They're like, stuck together like glue." Salt groaned. 

"It's annoying."

"Salty Salt, don't say that." Pepper replied.

"You know how much OJ meant to him."

"Please, Paper's attachment to him looks super sketchy. That mentally ill freak would be nothing without OJ anyways. I mean, have you _seen_ the way he latches onto him? Like, blaargh!" Salt sneered.

**0:13**

"You can't be serious right now." Pepper said.

"You're like, better than this!"

"What, so you aren't on my side? You've always supported my love for him, haven't you?" Salt shouted.

"It's ok to love someone, but you shouldn't be shitting on the people they love!" Pepper replied.

"What you're doing is like, selfish! Calling that paper kid those sorts of things, you're being like, such a bitch. It's no wonder OJ doesn't like you."

Something began to burn in the pit of Salt's stomach. What was this feeling, exactly? Anger? Rage? No, this was something much stronger. As Salt walked over to Pepper, she could feel a time bomb ticking in the back of her mind. 

"Salt, let go of me!"

Pepper's words meant nothing to her. Everything she'd said about her beloved, every word she said trying to defend her rival was nothing but a pile of rubbish. They'd been together for years, and yet it all had to end like this?

**0:04**

"Salt! LET GO! SALT!"

**0:03**

What was the noise Salt could hear? It sounded like her friend, but at the same time that voice had become nothing but a wisp in her head. 

**0:02**

Her grasp on Pepper only became tighter and tighter. This feeling, this extravagant feeling of bloodlust was so strong she couldn't help but laugh.

**0:01**

_"SALT!"_

No matter what, Salt and Pepper would be together. Even with the massive amount of hatred she felt against her, things would never change.

**0:00**

The doors rumbled shut. The ground below them felt as if it had disappeared, and by the time she came to her senses, she knew what was coming in the end. Was this her punishment for being foolish? It's not like she deserved it, right?

But if one thing was for sure, Pepper and Salt would be going to the grave together. Together, same as always.

**And the next thing Salt knew, everything went dark.**


	8. Rules

**Looking at the monitor above, Suitcase couldn't help but feel petrified.**

Watching Salt and Pepper fall to their deaths wasn't easy to stomach, but watching what unfolded beforehand made the entire situation even more nauseating.

Mephone 4 had intentionally sent them in there, knowing what would unfold. He knew how those two worked, and he knew damn well that they had no chance of escaping. Using the last of the lingering hope they even had, making it all crash down. Suitcase could feel her eyes tear up, trying her best not to let them fall.

_Even if Salt and Pepper weren't the greatest, no one deserved to die like this._

Looking around, it seem that the others in the room felt the same way. Even Trophy's expression was paled after seeing what unfolded.

"This is insane.." Balloon said.

"I-I can't do this anymore! I don't want to die here!"

Hearing Balloon's voice, Suitcase immediately scurried to him.

"Balloon, we can't give up! Not after what we just saw!" Suitcase said, her voice cracking.

"There has to be a way out of here, there _has_ to be!" Balloon said, his breathing becoming more and more erratic.

"You saw what happened to them! If we try to do anything we'll be killed!"

" **He's right, you know**." Mephone's voice rang out, a small smirk decorating his screen.

"Having that determination, the kind of hope those two had? Let's just say it has it's consequences."

Suitcase bit her lip. After seeing what happened, there was no way anyone would be plotting an escape anytime soon. As she looked to the floor, she could hear a pair of footsteps approaching the monitor above.

"Look Mephone, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but no one's going to give in to it. You never even told us why we're here in the first place, eh?" Nickel shouted.

"How stupid can this get? What's the purpose in participating if there's no purpose to the game to begin with?" Nickel said, snickering.

"N-Nickel?! What are you doing?" Baseball shouted.

"Are you _seriously_ asking for a death wish?"

"Sheesh, I'll be fine." Nickel said.

"It's not like I'm breaking his dumb rulebook or anything."

Mephone's screen glitched again, and he snickered.

"Look like the smartass said something valuable. You're all here for a reason after all." Mephone replied.

"To put it simply, welcome to Season 2 of Inanimate Insanity. Also known as, the rest of your lives. You'll no longer have any contact with the outside world, and you'll be monitored here 24/7."

"Yeah yeah, you said that _ages_ ago. Why are we actually here?" Paintbrush replied.

"To put it simply, you're here for reason no one would understand...reasons I don't even find clear. But in the end, it doesn't really matter. You guys are here under a contract, and that's that. Who knows what you guys would get into in isolation?" Mephone said.

"So we're going to be here...forever?" Suitcase said.

"Yep, that's that. Don't worry, we're providing you with all the resources needed for you contestants to stay alive, along with... _other sorts of things_." Mephone said.

"That's all I'm going to say for now, you guys can like, get settled or whatever. Enjoy your new life!" Mephone's screen glitched, his voice letting out nothing but distorted, jumbled words. And just like that, the monitor shut off.

Once again, the room was silent. No one was really sure what to say or do. Hell, she wasn't sure if anyone had the energy to even do anything after everything that had just unfolded.

"I-I know everything that just happened is crazy, but for now...we should just c-comply with him." Test Tube stuttered.

"Are you crazy? How can we do anything when three people just died in what, the last thirty minutes?" Pickle said.

"T-This is all happening at once, and I just-"

A hand touched Pickle's shoulder. Looking behind him, it was Knife, who bore the same anxious expression as everyone else.

"Look, this situation is nuts, but Test Tube's right. We can't just stand around doing nothing right now, we've just got to go forward, even if it hurts."

Suitcase's heart stirred. What Knife said was...surprisingly moving to her. She'd only felt this energy from him once before, right before Balloon and Nickel's elimination. She could tell the others felt the same way, even if they were reluctant to go forward after the events that just occurred.

"Sharp guy is right, let's do this! **The bright way**!" Lightbulb said, letting out a bright smile.

Paintbrush couldn't help but smile just a bit. There was something in them that probably inferred she was keeping her spirits up to help everyone, and clearly it was working, even if it was just a bit. But, Paintbrush knew that they couldn't dwindle on this forever.

**But if one thing was certain, they knew that no one would forget what they saw today.**


	9. Settling IN

**A cell.**  
She wasn't sure how she had gotten here in the first place. Her memories were quite hazy to say the least, rubbing her temples in an attempt to get said memories back. She was in the forest, wasn't she? She'd left after the mining challenge, their ploy to recruit Knife into their plan much more complicated than it turned out to be. In a way, she'd underestimated the moves Knife would make, perceiving him as, in a sense, nothing more than a one-dimensional dunce. Perhaps she was the dunce, waking up with no recollection in a situation like this. There was seemed to be a broken Meeple product beside her, much larger than her in size. The product in question was chipped, just enough to display some of the Meeple's internal core. Occasionally, she could hear the screen attempt to start up, and fail tremendously at its job. The days weren't even distinguishable anymore. 

The world was closed off, and in a way, she was kind of used to it. It wasn't like she had anyone to really support her. No real friends anymore, with only Microphone as an acquaintance of sorts. She was positively sure that she wasn't even seen as a friend, given that from their first interaction, Microphone only knew the negatives. Her betrayal, not to mention it being broadcast all over the nation. She sighed and continued to sit around, as if there was nothing else to do. And then, the product next to her attempted to turn on.  
She chuckled a little bit, seeing it struggle. She'd seen it try so many times to boot itself up, and she knew it wasn't going to work again. Not only was the thing chipped badly, but my god, it was just going to burn the big thing out entirely. She wouldn't be surprised if the thing broke in the next few days.  
 _That is, until she heard a familiar sound._

The familiar sound rang in the enclosed space. Not only had the product next to her turned on, but it had succeeded in what seemed impossible to her— **a reboot**.

-

" **You know, this reminds of a few games I've played a while back.** "

As everyone walked to their dorms, not much conversation could really be gathered. Nearly everyone was still trying to process what had just occurred minutes prior. Seeing three of the people they'd known meet a painful end wasn't something that someone could just forget out of the blue. Suitcase glanced over at Paper, quiet, not saying a single word since Salt and Pepper's demise. Fan and Test Tube were the only people making some sort of discussion, mainly theorizing the entire situation within itself. But even then, their voices had that tint of uneasiness to them. No one was okay with any of this, and the vibe made Suitcase's stomach swirl.

Entering the dorm room with her name on it, she flopped onto the bed, the warmth of the sheets being a huge contrast to the chills that shook her body earlier. Being alone by herself, the entire situation hit her like a hammer. This was no dream, not one of her hallucinations either. This was anything but fiction. If anything, this was a punishment. And not the temporary kind. With her face squished slightly into a pillow, small tears finally fell from her face, and she couldn't hold back that heavy feeling anymore.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Bolting her eyes open, she got up slowly. She rubbed her eyes with her leg as another knock came from the other side of the door. She could feel her heart rate increasing by the second, a bit anxious to open the door. Was Mephone going to show up again? Perhaps someone came to threaten her...maybe even _kill_ her? Swallowing her anxiety up, she opened the door.  
Balloon was outside her door, fidgeting with his hands.

"B-Balloon?" Suitcase said.  
"Thank goodness, I was afraid someone bad was outside the door."

"Well, we've seen _three_ people die today...of course you'll be on edge." Balloon replied.  
"I felt the same way...so I came here to see you. It's nice to see you after so long."

Suitcase could feel her face flush up a bit, but she could see his face form into a frown.

"Have you been... _crying_?" Balloon asked.

"Y-Yeah, sorry." Suitcase said, tears pooling in her eyes.  
"All of this has been scary. It feels like a bad dream, but it's anything but."

"I'm sorry for freaking out back there, too...I kind of lost it back there." Balloon replied.  
"After seeing them die, I just—I can't take this."

Balloon's voice cracked as he spoke, and he shook, trying to hold back his tears.

"You don't have to apologize for feeling like that, Balloon..." Suitcase replied.  
"Not everyone is showing it, but everyone feels the same way about all of this. Everyone's scared in some way. People process these sorts of situations differently...I'm not sure what's going to happen from here on, but we've all just got to stick together."

Sniffling, Balloon hugged Suitcase as he finally burst into tears. Suitcase couldn't hold back either, and returned the hug. She wasn't sure how long they cried for, but it didn't matter.  
 **Maybe, just maybe, there was a little hope after all.**


End file.
